Deserted
by borednhomealone
Summary: Carlisle's family leaves him to seek their own lives elsewhere, leaving him behind broken and alone with only Edward and Bella to help him through. Why would they all leave their beloved leader? Read and find out. WIP. Let me know if this is something worth continuing. Reviews welcome and generally begged for. This will be a Bella/Edward and Carlisle/OFC story.
1. Chapter 1

_**So for the second time in quite a while I have decided to tread into the waters of fan fiction yet again. It's been a while since I have written anything, so please be gentle with me. This is just a little something I thought up today, and I need to know if it is something worth finishing, or just leaving as is. Feel free to leave me comments. Constructive criticism is gladly accepted.**_

_**Also, as I am sure you know already... if you recognize it, I don't own it. I am merely borrowing it. Unless it's Carlisle. Which in that case I am stealing him and keeping him all for my own personal use. **_

For not the first time in my nearly four hundred years, I found myself on the precipice of change yet again. I'd watch the whole world around me change in ways no one would have ever been able to imagine: automobiles, airplanes, motorization and industrialization, telephone, radio, internet, and travels to space, and yet after all that I still found some changes unfathomable. I've watched people come and go all over the world, life revolving in its never ending circle of birth and death, and yet this one thing has affected my whole being. After centuries of wandering this earth alone, I had finally found my mate. It's been ninety years now. Ninety years since I first laid eyes on the brown haired beauty who would become my wife, and the mother of my "children". We've built a life for ourselves, despite our obvious shortcomings of immortality, and become what a true family is. Or at least I thought we had. When I came home from the hospital one night to find Esme packing a suitcase, the world I has spent so many years carefully creating quickly came crashing down around me.

I sensed something was off when Edward tried to head me off at the front door, rambling on about something Emmett and Jasper had done, or some car Rosalie had bought, but instantly I was suspicious. Edward was not one for useless rambling. Had they sent Bella instead, or possibly even Jacob, I may not have been concerned. But as Edward babbled on it fell on deaf ears. I could hear the shuffling coming from upstairs, and the whispers that even my excellent vampire hearing had difficulty understanding. I placed a gentle hand on Edward's shoulder, and he fell silent, a pained look gracing his features.

"Edward? Son? What is going on?" I asked quietly as the noises continued from upstairs. I got no response. Edward merely stared at the floor and shrugged his shoulders. I now knew for sure something was amiss. I watched as Alice descended the stairs, followed by Bella and Rosalie. Alice slipped past me without a word, as did Bella, but the surprise was with Rosalie. She stopped and gave me a hug, a sad look adorning her beautiful and flawless features. The reason for her sad countenance came down the stairs only a few moments later. Esme.

"What is going on?" I asked calmly as I noticed the luggage Esme was carrying with her. "Are we taking a holiday? I've not reserved any time off work, but I am sure if I call-". My sentence was cut short by Esme laying her hand over where my heart had ceased to beat all those years ago.

"Carlisle, please don't make this hard," she whispered. My brain went into overdrive. Could this really be happening? What had I done? I've devoted my life to my wife, my children, my work, and God. Was I being forsaken? Had it finally happened and I had fallen asleep to my worst nightmare? Visions of eternity began to swarm through my head and all I could see was misery. I could tell Edward was reading my thoughts, as he placed his hand on my shoulder. A wave of calm washed over the room from Jasper, but it did little to quell the torrent of emotions currently coursing through me.

"I've decided it's time to move on," Esme said softly. "Alice, Jasper, Emmett and I have decided that we want to have our own lives, to do the things we want. I still love you Carlisle, and I always will, but it needs to be this way."

I could feel my control slipping away. I tried desperately to figure out what I had done to drive them away, but I could not think of a single thing. I devoted my I had done to drive them away, but I could not think of a single thing. I devoted my life to them, and now I was being thrown away life to them, and now I was being thrown away like the trash. I could feel myself begin to tremble, and sat down on the stairs to steady myself.

"Carlisle." This time it was Rosalie. "I love you like a father, and while I've not always been happy with the life you gave me, I appreciate how you have taken care of me. You gave me a family and while it was not the one I had always dreamed of, you still gave me a place to call home. It's time for me to live my own life." Those were the words I had always dreaded hearing from my children. I knew it was always a possibility but I never dreamed it would actually happen.

"It has been an honor to be part of this coven, Carlisle but Rosie is right." This time it was Jasper. My whole family had turned on me? Dear God, what had I done? "It is time for us to move on. I am tired of being a high school student. I want to live in the world, and do what you have done. I want to help others. I've had my fill of dealing with noisy and shallow teenagers. I want to be an adult."

"We can move on somewhere else," I said, grasping at anything. "No more high schools. Esme, you can find your own career. Please, don't do this."

"It has to be like this," Alice said softly from her place by the door. "I've seen what the future has in store for us, and it is just more of the same."

"I thought all of that was arbitrary?" I argued, still not wanting to accept what was happening.

"It is, but everything I've seen, regardless of choices, has us living the same lives. We all want something different, and asking you to give up your job as a healer is just too much for all of us."

Suddenly, I snapped. I sprang from the stairs, my control slipping even further away. "But you think losing my family would hurt less? Do none of you know me?"

"We do know you, Carlisle and that's why we've chosen this route." This time it was Emmett who spoke. "You would give up everything for us, and we don't want that. We want you to be happy."

"And you think by leaving me alone I will be happy?" I raged, whirling on him and causing him to flinch. I looked to Edward, who had remained silent throughout the entire exchange. "And you? How do you feel? Are you abandoning me as well?" Much to my surprise, Edward shook his head no.

"No, and Bella is staying as well. We've discussed this and Bella and I do not want to leave. We want to stay with you."

My frustrations continued to grow. They had discussed this? An image of the family sitting down while I was at work came to mind. I had never felt so betrayed. Instead of coming to me to tell me they were unhappy, they decided to go behind my back and make the choice of leaving. Anger settled into my core, and I shook with rage.

"Get out."

"But Carlisle, we just want you to be happy," Esme said, placing her hands on my shoulders, which I quickly slapped away with a snarl.

"Don't touch me. All of you… get out! NOW!"

Despite the despair that had settled into me, I watched as my former family slinked out the door. I did not want them to see how their actions were crushing my long dead heart, and stormed up the stairs to my study, slamming the door behind me and splintering the wood. If they wanted to leave, then who was I to stop them? I was absolutely seething as I watched their cars disappear down the driveway, listening to the hums of the engines as they faded into nothing. The same nothing I had now become. Sinking to my knees, I turned my eyes upwards and screamed in agony.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Thanks to all for the follows and reviews. This chapter gives a little more insight to how Carlisle is feeling, which obviously isn't good. Also, this story has no beta so sorry for any typos or errors you may find. I hope you are enjoying the story so far.**_

_**Again, if you know it... I don't own it. Still looking into the possibility of at least renting Carlisle for the weekend.**_

It has been three months since my beloved family walked out on me, leaving me to wonder what I had done wrong. Neither Bella nor Edward held the answers, and if they did they were not speaking. The tension in the house was nearly unbearable. I was constantly losing my temper, which was something that was completely outside my normal character. Even some of my colleagues at the hospital had commented on my sullen mood, causing the joke of Dr. Sullen to come about. I found no humor in it, but I also found no strength in my being to even care about the snide comments. Everyone knew I had lost my family, and that my wife had left me. After all, Forks was a small town and people had nothing better to do than gossip. I just wish it wasn't about me. But once again I found myself unwilling and unable to care.

Life became routine for me. I would go to work and come home and lock myself in my study until it was time to go to work again. I barely found the strength to even change my clothes. Edward and Bella tried to keep some sense of normality in the house, but it was next to impossible. I even found myself avoiding my precious granddaughter, who had always loved to seek solace in my study with me, pouring over books and television and typical things of someone her age, and some things even atypical for someone her age. I found no joy in anything anymore. It wasn't until an idea entered my mind that I heard the incessant knocking on my study door.

"Go away." I barked, throwing the book I was reading at the still cracked door I had never bothered to fix.

"I need to talk to you." Edward's voice sounded desperate, and for a split second I thought maybe they had come back, or at least called. Maybe they decided they missed me and came home. I got up from my desk and let Edward into the room. The look on his face told me none of my hopes had come true, and a returned back to my chair, turning around to stare back out the window into the blackness of the night as I had every night since they had left.

"You can't do this," Edward said, his voice full of pleading. He knew my mind was made up, and was here to talk me out of it. I sensed another presence and turned back to see Bella standing in the door, a look of what appeared to be shame mixed with sadness on her face as she took in her surroundings. My normally pristine study was in shambles, with books lying about the floor and papers scattered over the surface of my desk. The picture frames that had graced the shelves along the wall had all been either knocked over or broken completely. The shattered remains of the photographs were an echo of the feelings in my long dead heart. I looked from Bella to Edward and let out a sigh.

"And why not?" I asked, picking up some of my files from work, trying to send the message that I had already decided and that nothing was going to change my mind. "This is my life, and I can choose to do with it what I please," I stated calmly, scribbling notes in the file of one of my patients.

"Because despite what the others did, Bella and I care about you, as does Renesmee. You cannot do this Carlisle. Please."

"Edward, my mind is made up," I said, trying to stay calm. This was something that I found was a challenge for me now, which is something I was not accustomed. "I've spoken to Aro. I plan on making the trip in three weeks. I've put my notice in at the hospital, so they can replace me and then I am going to Volterra. Nothing you can say will change my mind."

"What's going on?" Bella asked from the door. I looked at her with surprise. I would have guessed that Edward would have shared my thoughts with her. I silently cursed myself for not being able to control my mind in Edward's presence. Had I been able to, neither of them would know the events about to transpire.

"Carlisle has made up his mind to go to the Volturi and be killed." Edward stated flatly. The shock took mere seconds to register on Bella's face and she bolted into the room and straight to me.

"Carlisle! No! You can't! What about Edward? What about Renesmee? We love you, and don't want to be without you." If she could, Bella would be in tears right now. I looked at the newborn vampire, and saw glimpses of her human self still in her eyes: the vulnerability, the insecurity, everything that made her Bella. Could I really hurt her and Edward like this? As much as it pained me to think of them going on without me, I knew they had no use for me anymore. The rest of the family didn't so why should they. My melancholy was only a burden to them now, and the least I could do for them was to ease that burden.

"Bella, it doesn't matter. My mind is made up. Besides, if I am not in Volterra in three weeks, then Aro has agreed to come here. It's done. I'm not changing my mind." With that I got up and left the room. I could not bear the looks on their faces. Was I making the right choice? Right now, I couldn't see far enough through my pain to know and I wasn't sure I could live the rest of eternity in this kind of pain. I descended the stairs and left the house, running at vampire speed into the nearby woods in search of prey.

It wasn't long before I had taken down three deer. It was more than I needed, but I found I couldn't control the aggression. I threw their now lifeless carcasses to the side, and sat down beneath a dogwood tree. As soon as the sweet floral scent hit my nose, I recognized my mistake in choosing that spot. A sweet, heart shaped face surrounded by flowing caramel colored hair entered my mind. What should have been a bittersweet memory brought back feelings of anger and abandonment, followed by resentment. I had long gone from the stages of denial, and found myself overwhelmed by fury. Off to my side, I heard a rustling in the weeds and with a snarl I threw myself at the hapless creature that had interrupted my peace. It was a mountain lion, and it decided to put up a fight. I had already quenched my thirst, and now found myself in a new situation: killing for the sake of killing. In all my years, I had never killed any creature out of anything other than necessity, but now I found myself toying with the beast. It should have alarmed me, but the fight with the animal relieved some of the tension I had felt within myself, and as I tossed its dead form to the side, I felt a small wave of relief wash over me. Yet another reason I could not go on living. If it were animals now, what's to say I would stop there and not take revenge on the human population? I was becoming the monster I had always feared becoming. Another reason why I had to end it.

I made my way back to the house to find it deserted, which suited me just fine. I didn't know where Edward and Bella had gone off to, but I really didn't care. I ascended the stairs to my bedroom to rid myself of my tattered and filthy clothing. I snickered to myself as I threw the shredded clothing into the trash and got in the shower, almost laughing at the thought of how Esme would have reacted to my appearance. I had never been anything but composed, but that was all gone now. Torn away from me when they left. They had taken my heart, my soul, and my sanity. I knew I was dangerously close to becoming the creature I had spent centuries trying to avoid, which was all the more reason to rid this world of myself. As I dressed for work, I decided that I had done the right thing in calling Aro, and I felt at peace for the first time in months.


	3. Chapter 3

_**So this one is a bit shorter, sorry about that. And sorry about the horrible delay in getting this posted. I was struggling with two ways I wanted to take this story, and I think I finally decided. I hope it was worth the wait. **_

Two weeks. That's how long it's been. This has been the longest two weeks I've ever spent in my whole existence. I'd put in my notice at the hospital, and while most were upset to see me leave, they didn't really go out of their way to show it. It's not that I really gave them much of a chance. My mood hadn't improved any at all, and had actually managed to get worse, leading more and more people to steer clear of me. I just didn't crave the human interaction I once had; it no longer held meaning for me. Nothing held any meaning for me, not even the medicine I had been so passionate about for three hundred years. I just wanted it all to end. I didn't know any more if God would be on the other end, and I found myself not really caring. If he were there, how could all of this have happened? I led a good existence, denying my inner beast for so long, and the repayment I get is complete misery and despair. I had placed all my faith in him, now I want to do nothing but blame him. Sighing, I grabbed my prescription pad from my desk drawer and shoved it in the pocket of my lab coat and headed towards the emergency room to start what would be another miserable day.

No sooner I walked through the double doors, a smell hit me unlike any other. I stopped in my tracks, trying to place where it was coming from. It smelled like pure heaven, and my mouth began to fill with venom. I'd never been tempted by a human's blood before, so this was a new sensation to me. While in Volterra I'd heard talks of "singers"; humans whose blood called to us vampires and drew us in like moths to a flame. For the first time ever, I was unsure of what to do with myself. Should I run from this sweet, tempting fragrance or should I seek it out and see if I could control myself? I knew what would happen if my instincts got the best of me: it would end with a dead human and a death sentence for me. Since I had already decided to end my existence, I decided to push on and see where this incredibly enticing smell was coming from. I had made it as far as the nurse's station when the smell became so powerful it nearly drove me to my knees. Thankfully, one of the nurses stopped me from going any farther. As much as I didn't care to die, I still didn't want to do it with the death of a human on my conscience.

"Dr. Cullen, there is a young lady in exam room two with a nasty cut on her arm. She said she was working outside trimming her hedges when the cutter slipped and got her arm. Looks like it will need cleaning and stitches, but there doesn't appear to be any tendon or ligament damage."

I found myself slowly tuning out the nurse as the smell wafting from the exam room continued its assault on my olfactory senses. I merely nodded my head, grabbed the chart from the nurse, and headed towards the exam room, completely aware of what potentially laid in waiting for me. Would I be able to stop myself? If this woman truly was my singer, would I be able to resist. Images of a hospital in shambles after losing my control flashed through my mind, and I shuddered slightly. That much destruction and carnage shouldn't be worth one human's blood, so I steeled myself and entered the room. While I was able to contain my instincts as a vampire, the ones I had as a man went wild. Sitting before me, in a tacky hospital gown with a bloody bandage wrapped around one arm, was an angel.

"I'm Dr. Cullen." That's all I could manage. I was afraid something else might slip, and she already sensed that there was something different in me. I saw her tense as soon as I walked in the room. Normal reaction for most humans; their ancient instincts tell them I'm a predator but they don't know why they feel that way. She started to scoot back on the exam table, trying to place more distance between us as I approached her, but she stopped after realizing she would fall off the edge of the table. Her eyes were locked on mine as I removed the makeshift bandage from her arm and examined the laceration on her arm. The sweet smell of her blood caused my mouth to water, and I had to fight with myself not to put her arm to my mouth and drink in her delicious nectar. It was then that I finally remembered that the beautiful woman sitting before me still hadn't spoken a word. I could sense the fear in the air, and tried to think of something that could diffuse some of the tension. I was busy fumbling with the suturing supplies, laying them out on the prep table, when the door opened to reveal a nurse. For the first time in quite a long time, I was startled and managed to fumble the supplies, which clattered noisily to the floor. Swearing gently under my breath, I knelt down to collect the fallen equipment when the nurse, whose name was Angie and someone I had frequently worked with, joined me with a smirk on her face.

"You alright, Dr. Cullen?" Her tone held a hint of laughter, and I knew it was because she had never seen me flustered before. For some strange reason, I felt if I were still human I would be blushing furiously as Bella used to do.

"Yes, Angie. I'm fine. I was just startled when you came in is all." She didn't seem to quite buy my reply, but instead grabbing the now tainted materials from my hands and dumped them in the biohazard pail. She quickly retrieved another kit, and instead of handing it to me began unloading the supplies herself. I shot her an incredulous look and was about to say something about being capable of taking care of this on my own when the woman whose scent had distracted me in the first place finally spoke up.

"You know, doc. I'm the one who should be nervous here. I really hate needles."

At her comment the tension in the room was almost immediately diffused and I set to work on stitching up her arm, recalling the time in my study I had done nearly the same thing for Bella. Trying to use that memory as a distraction, I continued to work on the woman before me, who had once again fallen silent. Suddenly, she launched into a tale of how she ended up in my charge, starting as far back as her arrival in Forks. I found out she had been previously married, but her husband had been killed in a car accident. Poor, fragile humans. She came to Forks as a result of closing her eyes and picking a place randomly on the map, and buying a small house on the outside of town, surprisingly not far from my own. She worked in the local floral shop, which could have accounted for the smell but somehow I doubted that. Apparently she had been working in her own garden when some shears slipped and sliced her arm open. By the time she reached that point in her story, I had finished the sutures and was bandaging her arm and giving her instructions for care. I wished her luck, and was turning to leave the room when she spoke again, and I was certain that if my heart was beating it would have stopped at her sudden words.

"Look, I know we just met and all, but I don't know many people in town. Do you think we could maybe have coffee or something after your shift?"


End file.
